Royal nod: Queen Camilla standing with (from left) Kiyaga, Erynn, Cristabelle and Evangeline during a reception for winners of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition at Buckingham Palace in London. — Reuters
PETALING JAYA: Simply supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – that’s how Malaysian duo Evangeline Khoo Ke Ying, 15, and Erynn Liew, 13, described their meeting with Queen Camilla in the United Kingdom.
As the Senior Winner and Junior Winner of the 2024 Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) respectively, Evangeline and Erynn were hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
While congratulating the winners, Queen Camilla said: “There is only one word to describe you all, but I might need some help from King Charles to say it correctly – you are truly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Evangeline, a student at SMK Menjalara in Kuala Lumpur, said meeting the Queen was amazing.
“Having her encourage me to continue writing inspired me even more to pursue my passion for creative writing. I also received a very special gift, a fountain pen, that I will forever cherish,” she said.
Erynn, a Tzu Chi International School Kuala Lumpur student, said meeting the Queen was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.
“I was so happy it almost felt surreal. Mary Poppins is my all-time favourite movie, so I’d say it was extremely memorable when she said, ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’!”
The meeting with the Queen was the culmination of Winners’ Week, held from Nov 18 to 21, during which the winners – along with Junior Runner-up Victor Kiyaga, 13, from Uganda, and Senior Runner-up Christabelle Yeo, 16, from Singapore – participated in exciting educational and cultural activities.
Erynn said the two most eye-opening events were visiting Westminster Abbey and watching Matilda the Musical.
“This trip was something I could never forget, even when I’m 85 years old. Apart from learning about London’s history, I’ve also created new friendships with the other winners – Evangeline, Christabelle and Victor,” she said.
Evangeline said the week was filled with beautiful and historical buildings she hopes to revisit one day.
“We also went to the Speaker’s House and met Mr Speaker himself, which was very fun. We managed to hear a parliamentary debate, which opened our eyes to how some arguments work.
“We also learnt about Shakespeare’s life and death, getting sneak peeks of his works and plays in an engaging and fun way,” she said.
In her entry, Evangeline highlighted issues surrounding human greed and the environmental impact of single-use plastics in her short story, “Ungrowing Growth”.
Erynn’s winning piece, “The Indian Ocean Queen’s Troubles”, featured talking sea creatures lamenting their plight, including overfishing, climate change and plastic pollution.
Erynn had previously won the Gold Finalist Award in 2021 and Gold Awards in 2022 and 2023 for the same competition.
Organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society in the UK, the 2024 QCEC received a total of 34,939 submissions from across all Commonwealth regions.
It is also the world’s oldest international writing competition for schools.
Open to all Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and under, the annual QCEC invites participants to write on a theme inspired by the Commonwealth’s values and principles while also developing key literacy skills and fostering an empathetic, open-minded worldview.
Last year, 15-year-old Kong Yong Sin from SMK Tinggi Kluang, Johor, was named the Senior Runner-up, earning her the opportunity to be honoured by Queen Camilla.
Past winners include Malaysia-born Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mei Fong, Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and the late British author Elspeth Huxley.
